The invention relates to a connector intended for attachment to the end of a cable consisting of a number of insulated conductors enclosed by a jacket, said connector comprising two housing parts which in the assembled state together define a passage having--viewed from the insertion end--a first section designed to take the jacketed end of the cable, and a second section situated further in to take the insulated conductors projecting from the jacket, both housing parts being provided at the first section with strain relief elements acting on the cable jacket in the assembled state, and one of the housing parts is provided at the second section with a pierce contact for each conductor, which pierce contact can move from a position in which the insulated conductors can be introduced unimpeded into the second section of the passage to a position in which the pierce contact is at least partially pierced through the conductor in question.
Such a connector is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,658. Each of the housing parts is provided with strain relief elements in the form of ribs which in the assembled state of the connector are pressed into the cable jacket, locally deform the cable jacket and thereby tightly grip the cable jacket. This release the strain on the cable jacket. During assembly, each of the pierce contacts is pushed in in such a way that the conductor in question is at least partially pierced through by the pierce contact.
In order also in the long run to guarantee good electrical contact between the pierce contact and the conductor in question, it is very important that the conductor should not be subjected to any mechanical tensile strain. During use of the cable with the connector attached to it, it is possible for the insulated conductor to move to some extent in the enclosing jacket, with the result that a tensile force is exerted on the conductor at the pierce contact, which means that a space can develop between the pierce contact and the conductor. This leads to impairment of the electrical contact, and the long run can lead to a complete electrical disconnection.